


Questionable Cats

by KahylanCorwin



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Tommy Ratliff (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Werecats
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-25 09:28:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/637446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahylanCorwin/pseuds/KahylanCorwin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was the point of being a predator if you couldn't catch any prey?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Decision is Made

**Author's Note:**

> This story is purely fiction! But I have to warn you, it's a little on the wild side!

It was late… almost 4 am “Fuck” Tommy hissed out, which was followed by very violent screeching yowls. If he didn't catch something soon, it would be the 8th day in a row that he had gone hungry. His beautiful white fur was covered in soot and oil, and his lean form was bordering on the gaunt starved look. What was the point of being a predator if you couldn't catch any prey?

The sun was starting to rise an hour later and Tommy still had nothing to prove from his nighttime jaunt. Slowly the fur pulled back to leave almost translucently white skin. The normally easy transition was painful as Tommy had not had more than 16 hours of sleep, in the 10 days since he left his drunken, high as kite parents; along with the fact that he had not eaten a good meal since he had left either, which his stomach confirmed by growling loudly! When his head stopped spinning long enough for him to find his feet Tommy staggered to the nearest tree for support. Breathing through his nose trying not to pass out, but darkness invaded his vision, and his legs turned to jelly. Finally Tommy gave in and let his mind preserve the beaten down shell of a helpless body and soul. 

When Tommy woke up, he found himself at home in his room, his parents were watching him with small suspicious eyes. At least he knew that they were both sober and coherent, otherwise there would be no possible way for them to be glaring at him with such spite and malice.


	2. Tommy lets go

Slowly he pulled himself into a sitting position, so that he could face his parent’s wrath a little more respectively… but not by much as someone had striped him down to his boxers. He tried to open his mouth to explain, but his mom beat him to it.

“Son-of-a-bitch Tj!” Tommy just rolled his eyes his own mother couldn't even scold him correctly by using his full name. Slap! “Don’t you dare roll your eyes at me!” she shrieked. Tommy had not seen the slap coming and his head snapped to the side painfully, pulling at least two muscles in his neck.

_Fuck, I’m not going to be able to move my neck at all tomorrow._ Tommy thought to himself as his mother continued her unintelligible screeching. His dad’s phone broke off his mother’s dreadful noise and replaced it the annoying little off-beat tune that came with the cheap device. Glancing at the screen, he quickly got up and ran down the stairs, greeting the person at the door respectfully. Tommy glanced out the window and managed to painfully stretch his neck to grab a glimpse of the road…blue and red unmistakable lights were flashing out front.

_Shit! What did I do to get the cops here and in such force? I just passed out from lack of nutrition…nothing that couldn't be fixed…Fuck, fuck, fuck! It’s not my fault!_ This was Tommy’s internal monologue as he heard his father tramp back up the stairs, along with two other sets of feet.

The door opened and two officers walked in behind Mr. Ratliff, they took in the sight of the young boy. He was horribly thin, gaunt looking, his wide sunken eyes, fearful and suspicious. As they walked farther into the room, they could see the boy stiffen and work harder to breath. It was like slow motion as the dull brown eyes rolled back into his head and he fell backwards cracking his head on the window sill as he went down. The officers rushed forward to try to help but immediately scrambled backwards as Tommy’s unconscious mind sparked his animal instincts. The white panther was collapsed on the floor in Tommy’s place.

Slowly it opened its eyes and stared at the four people crowded in the room. There was nothing human about those piercing green-yellow eyes… slowly the officers grabbed the arms of Tommy’s parents and pulled them out of the room, just as the panther lunged at the door slamming it shut! Safely downstairs the officers placed the stunned couple on their couch, and took seats across from them. They could hear the restless pacing of the huge cat above them, glancing at one another they silently decided that the chief had to be called in on this one.


	3. Was Tommy hit by tranquilizers or a shotgun?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was Tommy hit by tranquilizers or a shotgun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, school has picked apart my writing time, but I have finally been able to put together a decently sized chapter... I hope you like it! 
> 
> Please let me know what you think! :)

Half an hour later when the chief FINALLY showed up, the two officers could still hear the panther pacing, growling, and jump/tearing at the doors and walls. The longer it was locked in the room the more violent the cat became. “Hey Chief!” the smaller officer sighed “Thank god you’re here, this one is…”

“Brian!” the Chief barked out cutting into the young officer’s fear induced rambling, as he pulled a slightly battered card out of his wallet. “I have to make a phone call, so please get everyone out of this house and set up a two block perimeter. I don’t want anyone or anyTHING coming in or out without my approval! Understand?” 

“Yes sir!”  Brian called out as he and the other officer scrambled out of the house, with the still shocked Ratliff’s in-tow.  

“Finally some peace and quiet” Chief muttered. Putting his phone to his ear, it rang twice before a deep gravelly voice answered. “Hey Steve, I have a situation here.” Chief got out, before the entire house shuttered as the ceiling collapsed in the kitchen and an angry yowl vibrated through his bones.

A dark chuckle came back through the line… “Should I bring the tranquilizer, or just the shotgun?” Steve questioned.

“Both!” Chief screamed into the phone before he hung up, launching himself at the door to the kitchen as dust and debris rolled into the room. Door shut, Chief went to work piling every piece of furniture against the straining wood. Unfortunately it was a swinging door… and soon the panther had its claws digging into the oak pulling it through the rubble of crushed ceiling. As soon as there was enough room, the cat bounded up the teetering pile of furniture, and launched itself at Chief.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Chief, was braced for impact, but it never came… the weapon had sounded like a bomb going off next to his ear, reverberating through his body and rattling his heart. He glanced up just in time to see the white cat fall with three bright red spots; on its neck, stomach, and thigh. Chief didn’t have time to see whether it was the ends of a tranquilizer or blood stains as the cat lurched up from the ground and smashed through the large sitting room windows…disappearing into the black night.    

The white cat was terrified! All it knew was that it had been trapped, found an escape route, and was in agonizing pain as it limbs quickly became rubber. It took everything in its power to keep moving forward, the cat had one goal, to find a safe dark place to hide. Its groggy eyes were fighting to stay open…the pain in its thigh was burning with every beat of its heart. Car horns were blasting through sensitive eardrums, headlights illuminating the wide frantic glowing eyes. Eventually the panther’s body gave out…slumping to the leaf strewn ground in a heap of white.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, the cat was aware that he was being lifted into the back of a truck, but the darkness quickly swallowed him back under. There were small patches of clarity, mixed in with the fire running through his veins. Bright un-natural light, dark comfortableness, annoying beeping, and a soft calming voice. A delicious smell reached his nostrils teasing him back into the land of the conscious the fresh bloody meat was flopped into a large steal bowl just waiting to be eaten. Ohh the joy of food! The large cat tried to launch itself head first into the bowl, but his neck was bandaged, along with his stomach, and his leg was in a cast that made it so that all he did was flop over while trying to stand up. A soft sigh reached his ears, as he finally to stalk of his surroundings. He was in a padded observation room. That had one wall entirely made of bullet proof glass 8 inches thick. Behind the glass was a man, with a long pole in his hands. The Panther instantly bared his teeth to the man, but the stranger did not seem to mind…. Actually he even liked the cat’s reaction! The man disappeared and the cat wearily watched the glass, but then the smell took over and he tried crawling closer to the food but that only put more strain on his injuries. He was about to give up… when he heard the scuff of cloth on cloth… the door was being opened, and the man slowly but deliberately walked into the room still caring the long pole. Knowing that there was no way to run, the cat did the only thing it could… it painfully pushed back into a corner as far away from the man as possible. The man chuckled, and the cat hissed his annoyance at being laughed at… but quickly forgot his anger as the long pole pushed the food right up under his nose. The food was gone in a blink of an eye, as the cat sat back and licked his lips, the food dish was replaced with strangely thick water, but it still tasted ok so the cat happily quenched his unbearable thirst. 

This quiet routine went on for weeks as the panther’s wounds healed. Now when the man came into the room the cat would limp over and rub up against his legs, purring his satisfaction, letting the man poke and prod to make sure his body was healing correctly. But one day… the man came in and just sat down quietly in a corner. Cautiously the panther wondered over and laid down at the man’s feet, far enough away that he could not be touched but close enough so that the man would know that he was interested. Gently the man started talking…just talking, random words, phrases, names… until he said one name that sent a chill through the panther. “Tommy” the man whispered again… watching as the cat tried to suppress the shudder that ran down his length. “Your name is Tommy Jo Ratliff… Tommy can you hear my voice? Can you come back to me Tommy?” the man gently questioned. The cat’s muscles violently contracted into a full body seizure. Only calming after the man came over and carefully stroked his head. When the panther could look up again… the man saw a new glimmer of awareness in the large cat’s eyes. He knew that Tommy could understand what he was saying…but the trauma was too much for his mind to fully let go of the animal side.  Tommy had suffered more than he could physically heal; the man knew that Tommy may never be able to return to his human form, which might be just as well considering the fact that the bullet that had hit his thigh had left permanent damage to the bone.

Slowly Tommy was able to bring his mind forth… finding equilibrium between his human mind and the mind of the panther. Although he could now understand human words, pictures, body language, voices, Tommy was unable to come back to his original body. The transition just would not come! He tried in vain for days on end to push back the body of the cat, but it was just no use somewhere deep down there was a part of him missing… a piece that he could not find and prevented him from truly facing the world. Months had gone by…Tommy had no real idea how long he had been confined to the same padded room… but it was starting to get under his skin, he wanted out! The man talking care of him could see that Tommy had made great progress in gaining his proper mind back, the knowing twinkle in his deep chocolate eyes. That was the only physical difference to the cat that Tommy had been able to make…. His eyes were no longer the green-yellow of a cat, but the dark brown endless eyes that belonged to Tommy; they still had their reflective edge to them so he could see in the dark, but the man knew that Tommy was the one in charge now, and he could make rational decisions.

Tommy had spent a few weeks getting the hang of his human mind being in charge of a panther’s body… it took some real concentration to move all four legs properly, use his tail as balance, and to learn how to express himself without words. But in the end Tommy found that he could hardly remember what it was like to be in his human body. Tommy was itching to go outside though… to feel the sun warm his fur, the wind on his face, and good solid dirt under his paws. After much tail twitching and pleading looks, the man finally brought a harness normally used for sled dogs and helped Tommy into it. Then he hooked a thick cable to the back of the harness and proceeded to lead Tommy out to the walled in courtyard. A net had been securely placed over the yard so that Tommy could not escape. He gave a low growl as he took in his new cage, he did not appreciate that the man did not trust him enough to just let him run free… but as the thought struck him he half choked on the wheezing growl that came from his laughing throat. _Run free hahah that’s a good one Tommy Jo! Of course he is afraid of you running free…. You’re a huge white panther for god’s sake!_ Tommy thought to himself. But he was ripped from his thoughts as the man’s cell phone went off.  He answered and Tommy watched as all of the color drained from his face. The man dropped the coil of cable that he had been holding that was attached to Tommy’s harness like a long leash…  the light in his eyes had gone out, and he stared blankly for a moment before dropping his phone and running out of the building complex. Tommy was completely lost for a few seconds as he watched the man run out of the building…  but he quickly gathered himself together, scooping the horrible metallically wire into his mouth and hurriedly ran after the man.

Tommy launched himself into the bed of the man’s truck as it started and pulled haphazardly onto the road. The truck was lurching wildly from side to side, and the man was constantly hitting the gas then slamming on the breaks.  It was all Tommy could do to keep from falling off the open tailgate, he finally found some purchase after he had managed to claw his way through the metal of the truck bed, so that his claws were holding him down. Finally they stopped and Tommy took his chance to scramble over the top of the cab and sat down on the hood of the vehicular, staring at the man questioningly. The man’s eyes went wide seeing Tommy perched on his truck… but quickly faded back into pain. Carefully Tommy started to maneuver himself around so that he could see the name of the building they were at… but his nose gave him the answer, they were parked outside a hospital. Tommy hated hospitals with a passion! His ears laid flat against his head and his fur stood up on end, hissing he catapulted himself back into the bed of the truck and lay there trembling trying to block the nasty disinfectant smell from his sensitive nose.  Tommy had no idea how long he had just cowered there… but he knew that the man had disappeared into the disturbing building hours before, and darkness was settling in. Sometime during the night Tommy woke up shivering… the cold had seeped into his bones, and his fur could no longer protect him from the caress of the wind. So he jumped down and with some difficulty managed to pull the door of the truck open, and jumped up onto the bench seat, where he then locked himself in and stretched out before quickly falling back asleep.

Tommy must have been out for a few days… _F.U.C.K….how long have I been crammed into this truck? Ugg the damn smell of the hospital must have pulled more of my human mind forward, and knocked me out for a longer than I thought…._ Hospitals had always made Tommy nerves, and being so close to one for so long had pulled him into unconsciousness. But as he stretched, he noticed the man walking toward the truck, but he was not alone. He was holding the hand of a young lady… probably around Tommy’s human age, 21. She was beautiful, with long auburn hair that swept to the end of her shoulder blades. She looked very jumpy as she clung to her father’s arm, as she got closer Tommy could smell the strong hospital sent, but also something else… the pain that was coming from her ears. Suddenly it all clicked together! The young woman had lost her hearing some way or another… she could not tell what was happening around her as there was only ringing in her ears, and even that would eventually fade away into a world of complete silence. Tommy could not imagine not being able to hear, or not having any of his senses really. He felt so sad for the girl that his cat face did its best impression of pouting, ears folding out sideways off his head, while his whiskers drooped, and his eyes became wide and sorrowful. The girl was shocked to see the huge white panther in her dad’s truck… but the cat had the most ridiculous look on its face that she could not help but laugh! She could feel the laugh role out of her body, as her vocal cords vibrated with sound, but all there was only emptiness. Tommy heard her laugh though and purred in response… rattling the windows in the truck with the force of his happiness… the woman quickly stepped forward and placed her hand against the window, feeling the vibrations.

The man explained to the woman Tommy’s situation… that he was a Were that could not find his way back, but that his human mind was in control of the panthers body. She instantly took a liking to Tommy and soon she was visiting him every day in his safe padded cell. Until the day came when she never showed up…. Tommy waited watching the clock on the other side of the glass, but when she was more than 15 minutes late he began to worry. Lena (the woman’ name) was never more than 10 minutes late depending on traffic. She was one of those people who liked to be on time, and now that she had to take the bus everywhere, she was even more time conscious. Sure enough, after waiting for what felt like eternity (but really only the next day) Lena walked into his cell with a plaster cast wrapped up her left hand and forearm. They were talking about getting her a Seeing Eye dog… to help her avoid dangerous situations, such as getting brushed by a car and breaking her arm! Losing her hearing in the middle of her life had really negatively impacted her, and she could hardly function in day to day activities. It was almost like she had lost bother her hearing and vision…as her body just was not accommodating for the loss of the important information gathering system.  The dog was going to cost thousands of dollars that the family did not have, not to mention she would be put on a waiting list for who knew how long… before she would be even considered for the aid. One day Tommy overheard the man talking to his wife about the issues surrounding the dog, and the fact that Lena needed the help now! So that she could get used to the animal and its signs before she started college in the fall. It was then that the idea came… he could be Lena’s guide! He already knew her and her issues, she already was comfortable around him, and was tuned into his body language. They would get along perfectly and he could get back out in the world, and feel like he was actually giving back to the people who had helped him so much, he wanted to be the one to protect Lena! Tommy finally got his point across after he had stuck to Lena for two whole weeks! (not that he really minded as that was what he wanted to do anyway, but he was annoyed that it had taken the man and Lena that long to figure it out.)  

Four weeks later, after extensive medical tests were run, and Tommy was given every injection known to man and animal he was finally given a perfect bill of health. All that was left was to convince a committee of animal rights activists, the school board of Lena’s college, and the government officials in charge of providing service animals, that Tommy as a PANTHER was fit to be such a guide for Lena, and would be safe to bring out into the public.

The first test was to see how he would handle large crowds, cars, horns, sirens, blowing debris, etc. He passed all of the initial tests with flying colors. But the test he was most worried about was next. Tommy would have to demonstrate how he would help Lena out of dangerous situations, but Lena was not his partner… he had to show that he could work with anyone and get them to safety. He was paired with a stubborn middle aged man, who just would not listen to him at all!   _Seriously how am I supposed to convey anything to a man who just refuses to listen to anything?_  Tommy fumed. _I am doing everything I can to get this stupid piece of meat to follow my lead…but he is using all of his senses, and won’t rely on me for the information._ Finally Tommy literally snapped at the guy’s ankle to get him to move away from the door that was supposed to have been opening for the last five minutes before it hit him in the back.

No one was impressed with how Tommy had handled the situation… _What the FUCK else was I supposed to do? I tried all of the things Lena would have instantly responded to… even if I had to get her attention first, she would always listen way before I even would have to think about snapping at her. People are soo incredibly STUPID!_ Tommy complained to no one in particular as obviously no one understood cat.

Finally after much persuasion and a few tears from Lena, I got to try again… but this time with my best friend and the real person I wanted to help. I was put into the same situation again… where Lena had her back to a door and it was opening, so I had to get her to move away from the doorway before it could hit her. I had my sled-dog harness on and Lena had a small dog leash in her hand which connected her to me. She followed me into the crowded room and I sat down a few feet in front of the door (the only comfortably open place to stand) and Lena followed standing next to me. Carefully I wrapped my long tail around her calf and just listened to my surroundings for anything that I might need to warn Lena about. When I heard the knock on the door I quickly pulled my tail away from her leg, and she instantly was looking down at me as I moved to the left out of the range of the opening door, with her sidestepping to keep next to my side. We demonstrated a few more situations, where I used different signals to show that she was in danger or safe, before the huge group of people FINALLY decided that I would be able to accompany her as a “safety cat”. _The name was so insanely uncreative that I almost hacked up a hair ball in disgust… but I had gotten what I wanted! I was going to be able to help Lena, so I decided not to bother with the title that made me itch behind the ears._ Thankfully Lena seemed to sense my unhappiness, and truly remedied the situation with a few perfectly placed scratches right behind my ears! I just Purred in ecstasy, and leaned into her dancing fingers. 


	4. The good school panther snaps!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monotony of school and being treated as just a house cat makes the panther snap... but who is the mysterious person who calms the urge for blood?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who may have had a sneak peek before this was posted... I urge you to read it all again as I switched things around, and added a lot more! 
> 
> Enjoy!

A month and a half later I found myself sitting in the Mitchel Murry College of the Arts, director’s board room. My happiness at finding out that Lena and I shared an interest in music was quickly fading as I half heatedly listened to the men and women drone on and on …explaining the rules and regulations for having a service animal on campus. Then they tacked on more ‘guidelines’ because of the added threat a panther brought to every person it came in contact with. _Seriously it’s like they have never seen a were before._ I mumbled to myself, but in a way they had not. Each were had to declare themselves as such and provide both human and animal identification, but that was only for the administration especially designed to handle a were’s special needs. But because of the fact that I was stuck in my panther form … to everyone but the man and Lena, that’s all I was… a panther.

Finally we were set free of the stifling room! I gladly ran ahead of Lena onto the green once we were safely outside… languidly stretching my entire body…then to burn off my pent up energy and get a better vantage point to watch Lena as she sat down in the grass, I climbed the nearest tree and perched in the highest branch that bent under my weight but did not snap. Content that Lena was only a few feet away I closed my eyes and just relaxed into the rays of the sun and the lulling rhythm of my perch swaying in the gentle breeze. 

I must have dozed off slightly because I did not see them coming. The wind luckily changed directions assaulting my nose with a sickly sweet smell…my eyes locked on a group of scantily clad girls that were walking our way. _Damn! Those bitches are hot!_ My mind exclaimed, but the unnatural sweetness was sending alarm bells off in the panthers mind. By the time my human mind registered the danger, the girls were already surrounding Lena spitting harsh names at her and making rude gestures taking full advantage of the fact that she could not hear them.

Before my human mind could catch up the panther was flying through the air, landing in a crouch between Lena and the leader of the group. My eyes were the sharp green-yellow as I realized she was the source of the sickly sent. She was a fellow were and a nasty vixen at that! The panther’s instincts took over as I stood on my hind legs looking the offending vixen in the eyes as my powerful paw took a swipe at her perfectly manicured face. Luckily my human mind was able to retract my claws before I ripped her face off. So the resulting swat only knocked her to the ground leaving a few bruises instead of permanent damage. While the vixen was pulling herself up, I backed up into Lena’s legs pushing her backwards while never taking my eyes off of the group until we had reached the opposite side of the green.

When I looked up at Lena she was in shock, softly I guided her to a bench outside her first class letting her sit and process in silence. _Fuck it Tommy Jo! You are supposed to make sure that this does not happen…you failed miserably on the first day! You are such a screw up!_ I berated myself as I rested my head on Lena’s lap. After a few minutes Lena started to stroke the silky fur (that I worked very hard to keep that way!) on my head, burrowing her fingers deep into my coat. Normally I would have pushed against her hand or purred…but I was too busy trying to figure out how vixen had gotten past me.

With dawning horror I realized that they had gotten to Lena because I had pushed the panther to the dark corners of my mind. Sitting in that tree I had become totally human in everything except my body. I had completely ignored my instincts. _Well, I was right about one thing… they really were BITCHES!_  was the last thought to run through my mind as Lena got up and followed the crowd into her class. I padded in behind, nose brushing her hand until she sat down and I curled up at her feet under the table. For the next hour while Lena was buys learning how to break down a complex composition through dictation, I was struggling to find the right balance between human logic and animal instincts, so that no one would get the better of me again. By the time we walked out I was confident no one would get close to Lena again. Unless of course she said it was ok. My eyes had settled into a comfortable half state, chocolate brown with the quick flash of night vision and a cat’s pupil.

Within the first week I had staked out all of the ware’s on campus and had perfected my ‘Just an intelligent cat’ façade. Slowly the months dragged by… most of the time I had nothing to do besides lay obediently at Lena’s feet. Somewhere along the way I even started to pay attention in Lena’s classes just for something to do! (And boy to I hate school with a passion! I would much rather be out learning on my own in the real world, but unfortunately being stuck in a panther body has all my dreams piling up against an infinitely high brick wall!)

Along with my growing boredom, Lena was slowly growing used to her disability and adapting. She hardly needed me any more after Christmas rolled around, but occasionally she would still need the reassurance I gave, so my function was being changed into a constant animal companion rather than a protector. She had made some good human friends (I had adamantly steered her away from the other were’s) that were also helping her become more comfortable in her own skin again. I could feel the rift widening between us as she gradually forgot that I was more than just a normal panther. Finally I decided that enough was enough! I was still a person even if I was trapped in my panther body and I wanted to remind Lena that it had been my decision to help protect and keep her safe as she learned how to cope.

When Monday morning rolled around I watched Lena as she got all of her things together for class and grabbed my harness from its hook on the wall. “Ok let’s get you ready for the day too!” she said. I just stood in the doorway to the kitchen watching her through narrowed eyes. “Come on Mizuki! We can’t be late this morning I have a presentation to give …” She called out at me. (The man had given me a new name so that no one would be able to trace me back to my family that almost got me killed, even Lena did not know my real name.) I just sat down defiantly and shook my head before going about cleaning a claw that had a speck of dirt on it. _Until she remembers that I am not just a stupid animal there is no way I am putting a humiliating harness back on, and letting her be the guide of MY life._

Sighing as she got a better grip on the harness and advanced on me. I flattened my ears and hissed my annoyance, but she kept coming. _Stupid girl!_ I thought to myself as I gathered my muscles and jumped over her, my front paws using her shoulders to fully clear her body. Landing I scrambled on the wood floor gaining purchase as I reached the open door, launching my body over the railing spreading my limbs wide to catch as much air as possible as I fell the ten stories. There were a lot of students around as they were also making their way to class. Someone had seen me jump.

Screams assaulted my ears as horrible tone deaf people voiced their terror. I hit the ground hissing and spitting, my fur standing up on end all over my body making me twice as big. I quickly sidestepped to the center of the green as the students quickly backed away making a large ring of open space around me. Slowly I raised my head and looked up to the landing of Lena’s room. She was as the railing looking down at me with tears in her eyes and fear sprawled clearly on her face. When her eyes met mine she raced out of my sight down the stairs, a minute later she was standing a few safe feet away from me. I hissed at her the tip of my bushy tail twitching in warning. Movement caught my eye as some _fucking stupid little shithead_ tried to pull Lena away.

She didn’t even register his hold on her arm as she sank to the ground. He kept pulling on her arm, desperate to get her out of mauling zone. I was worried he would pull her arm out of its socket as he pulled harder by the second. I let a deep growl rip up my throat and advanced a step toward the bastard. He quickly gave up after one last tug, and cowered behind a group of short skirt girls as I turned my attention back to Lena. She was a blubbering mess on the ground, mumbling incoherently. I gently let my fur settle back into place, but my tail was still in the form of a wire brush, as I sat down waiting for her to acknowledge me again. Eventually she wiped her tears away gathering the courage to look into my eyes.

“I’m sorry” she whispered… “I’m sorry!” then she held open her arms. It was then that I noticed that she still had my harness in her left hand. I glared at the offending contraption darkly! She must have understood as she quickly threw it as far away from us as she could, then held out her arms again as she yelled “I am so sorry Mizuki!” at the top of her lungs. At that my ears perked forward and I trotted willingly into her open arms. Little did I know that this entire spat had been taped… the violator perched on a neighboring building with a perfect view of the entire show.

The rest of the day was very tense as I refused to be treated as an animal, and was walking freely beside Lena. The news of my morning jump had spread like wildfire, so naturally everyone knew different versions of the story. Most were mad exaggerations but they kept me entertained and in reasonable spirits. That is until we had a run in with the board of directors. He stopped us in the hall and demanded that I be controlled at all times. Lena tried to tell him that I had been fine the majority of the day and there was no reason for it, but he wouldn’t listen to her. He tried to make a grab for me but I scrambled out of his reach, by this time we were making quite the scene …again!

The busy hallway was now blocked by the unraveling drama. Most of the students were yelling for me to be caged. _Apparently my earlier show ruffled more feathers than I thought!_ A few other students tried to catch me…idiotically forgetting that I was much more than a tame house cat, but a wild animal that needed to be respected because I could easily tear them apart! Backed into the wall with nowhere to go…. I could just barely see Lena through the crowd, her eyes pleading for me to just accept the harness someone had so **thoughtfully** brought along. Defiance and anger sparked my long checked instincts into action. The cat was in charge now and there was nothing I could do…The human part of my mind was squashed down, brown eyes flashing a dangerous green-yellow. I could feel the urge deep in my bones… I could already taste the red-iron-metallic on my tongue…my body was crouched to spring at the first thing that moved.

In the blink of an eye a young man was standing in front of me… a shocked hush had fallen as he reached toward me, one finger held out in warning as he calmly told me to STOP. I growled but he stood his ground not even flinching. The only movement he made was to slowly bring his finger closer to my nose while continuing to tell me to STOP. All my focus was absorbed by that one finger hovering right above my nose…the only sound reaching my ears was the calming repetitive STOP. When he pulled his finger away I realized that I had a black leather collar around my neck that was attached to a matching black leather leash, folded into his hand.

“How did you do that?” the stunned director asked

The young man just laughed, waggling his eyebrows as he replied “Quick fingers!” But everyone in the room including me knew that the director was not asking how the young man had managed to get a collar buckled around my neck one handed. (But I really was intrigued by his answer!) The young man then proceeded to demonstrate just how quick his fingers could be as before I could even finish shifting my weight, let alone take a step his finger was back hovering above my nose.

“No!” said the ever more confused director “How did you not get attacked? There was death in that animals eyes…he wanted BLOOD!” the last word coming out as a strangled scream. The young man just shrugged his shoulders, then pulled me over to Lena handing her the end of the leather leash.

Looking down at me he said “I’ll be watching…” then silently disappeared into the crowd. 


	5. It's all an illusion!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A painful meeting with something wild!

I am not a person who really enjoys being the center of attention. I would much rather settle in a corner and disappear from prying eyes. This was exactly what I had been doing for the past week…I had hardly left Lena’s apartment as the entire school was in an uproar. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and any other form of social media crazy college students could get their hands on were buzzing with comments, pictures, and videos of my sorry self as the star. Unfortunately Lena and her friends had other ideas. “Mizuki, it’s been a week! You have to get out of this dorm! My friends have gotten two extra seats for the winter school play, that means you don’t have to sit in the aisle…there is a seat reserved just for you! ”

Glancing in Lena’s direction I just stood up and jumped onto her bed laying down with my back to her. I so… did NOT want to leave!  _Just kill me now and save me from ever having to face the world again!_ I thought to myself as I felt Lena sit down on the corner of the bed. “You have to come!” she demanded her voice harsh, but the fingers that danced behind my ears were friendly. I just let out a tired huff and settled my head between my paws. Lena tried a different tactic… “Ok… today is Tuesday the 29th of January, if you come with me tonight than I will let you out of the next two weeks, and you can go do as you wish, as long as your back to help me at night.

 As you well know I really don’t like going out by myself in the dark yet… I can’t see what’s out there and I haven’t found a good way to stop people from unintentionally sneaking up on me. Which is just another reason for you to come tonight and keep me safe in the crowds of people right?” _Ug she always knows how to pull on my human emotions._ I always end up doing what she wants me to… just sometimes, like now it takes a little more than normal persuasion. (Little did I know just how much I was going to need the time off she had promised me!)

_FUCK!_ Ok _ok...._ I slowly turned around so that I was looking at her… I dipped my head in acknowledgement and slipped off the bed. Lena Smiled one of her bright smiles then ran to get her coat. As she pulled it on I went over and grabbed the leather leash from the hook on the wall, holding it gingerly in my mouth careful not to mark it with my teeth. Lena didn’t fight me on the matter _Thank god!_ simply taking the leash and hooking it to my collar. So that was how I found myself walking into the schools theatre to watch  A Mid-Summer’s Night Dream. As I settled in my seat next to Lena she unhooked the leash and draped it over my shoulders.

 The play started and I quickly lost interest, plays were not my thing, focusing instead on the mysterious new black leather. Normally objects take up the smells around them, but for the past week I had only been overwhelmed by the strong sent of well-oiled leather, the collar especially should have had even a hint of the young man’s smell but there was no other scent to be found. Nuzzling at the leash I found…..NOTHING! ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOTHING! I had completely spaced out on the play happening on the stage below, but an unnatural intake of breath by the entire audience snapped me back to reality.  I looked from Lena to her friends who were all staring at the stage. When my eyes flickered to the scene below all of my muscles froze… instead of there being the horrible donkey costume center stage, there was an undisputable likeness of me.

Suddenly I was very Closter phobic, the large room felt like a box barely big enough for an ant! I had to get out NOW!   I tried to make a run for it but as my weight shifted backwards the seat collapsed in on me trapping my back legs. _Shit! Damn stadium seating!_ Twisting around I clawed up the back of the upholstered seat, my paws hitting the ground moving a mile a minute causing me to skitter down the aisle out of control until mu side collided hard with the font of the stage. Dazed I shook my body out trying to find the exit. Seeing double I saw a flash of red…the exit sign, running like a maniac I body checking the door under the sign knowing that it would give under my weight.

With a sickening crunch, I fell backwards totally knocked out cold for a few seconds.  Slamming head first into the wall was not part of my plan! When I came around there was a group of people surrounding me, worried looks, along with stifled laughter, staring down at me. Finding the sign again, checking to make sure there was a door underneath it, I moved a few feet to my right and tried again. This time cool air mercifully embraced my battered body… the cold making it easier to think straight. Feeling the gravel under my paws was painful but comforting as I fled across the parking lot into the refreshing cover of the forest.

Memories flashed to the forefront of my mind…the last time I had been in the woods, two bullets were taking my life and a dart stealing my mind. The haunting pain hit like whiplash driving me into a savage frenzy. Run, run, run, I had no idea how long I had been moving before I found that my feet were hitting the ground in time with a very specific rhythm. In a small corner of my mind I found an alien tune gently almost imperceptibly caressing my frazzled nerves and settling my raging instincts. As I took notice of the invading rhythm, the notes turned into a hum…which slowly morphed into the most glorious voice I’d ever heard, reaching unimaginable heights, before slipping down into the depths of the base notes, reminding me of a well-tuned guitar rage but so much better!

I am not a very religious person but that voice was wither an angel’s voice or the devil himself was trying to charm me. As my mind sunk into the depths of the strangely beautiful invading song, the panther took over and kept us running, pushing our body forward around trees, over logs, under bending branches mysteriously still on par with the beat in my head. Apparently I was not the only one mesmerized by the majestic voice/song combination, because the panther almost missed the softly loping paws that fell in time with mine. Only the flick of orange a few feet to our left alerted the panther that we were being followed. As soon as I realized my mind melded with the panther both of us having the same goal…escape. But someone else had a different idea as the song decided to change and a new darker tune laced with lust haunted my mind.

Using a tree as a brace I quickly changed directions trying to evade the unknown orange and the strange feeling the song sent shivering down my spine. For a moment I thought I had lost them, but the orange was now on my right…giving a burst of speed putting a few lengths between me and the threat but it continued to follow. Every few paces I looked back to see it flicking through the underbrush calmly jogging along, but as I looked back for the millionth time it was gone, the song fading from my mind.  I ran for another ten minutes before I had to stop. My lungs were burning, my muscles close to collapsing, I had not run this hard or long for…I just was not sure. Sitting down before my legs gave out, as I got my breathing somewhat normal again…my mind wandered to Lena. _Fuck! Lena, I hope she is alright!_

Before the thought of worry over Lena was fully processed the voce was back…a high almost tinkling laugh that quickly deepened, the rich tones sending violent quivers through my body. Gathering shaking limbs with home as the destination I took off with a spring of desperation in my step. The panthers white fur was like a homing beacon in the dark forest, making it easy for anything to track me. The orange was back…flicking to the side and slightly behind me, but it soon pushed ahead out of my sight. But apparently the orange flicker’s mind was processing better than mine because it was lying in wait for me in the clearing up ahead.

Both the panther and I were exhausted, we both just wanted to curl up in our warm nest beside Lena’s bed and sleep for days. My tired mind thought that because I was no longer being followed it was ok to let go and started swimming with drained half formed thoughts. Suddenly I was nose to nose with a huge HUGE Siberian Tiger! I pulled away but before I could get more than a few inches the tiger swiped a gigantic paw into my chest sending me over backwards. My back hit the ground hard, pushing all the air out of my lungs.

 Before I could take a breath, he was on top of me in an instant. (Yes I know that the tiger is a HE because I had gotten an undisputable view as he straddled my body….gross!) I shuddered underneath his massive body as his face swam into view, he was so close that I was seeing double again. Not to mention the fact that his breath reeked of booze. No it was stronger than just that…he had somehow rolled in what smelled like ever kind of tequila known to man! The stench was enough to almost knock me out!

But his eyes…his eyes were crystal clear the deepest gold I had ever seen. This cat was all animal. _But we were in California, how the fuck would a wild Siberian Tiger survive in this extreme opposite climate without being a were?_ My inner rambling was cut short as the tiger shifted from just standing over me to crouching pressing his body onto mine, but he still bore most of his own weight so he wouldn’t crush me. He looked deep into my wild frightened eyes searching for something…next thing I knew he had sunk this teeth into my shoulder.

Pain, blinding pain ripped through me intensifying with each breath he panted onto my broken flesh. As his tongue ran along teeth and skin the pain slowly started to curl back up my limbs, congregating to the puncture marks his teeth still inhabited. The pain peaked and I almost blacked out as I thrashed under the orange fur, but as quickly as it had come the pain was gone…leaving a warm gentle tingling in its wake as my eyes closed.

The ground beneath my back was freezing and my leg muscles were aching. I curled my paws, but as I did they dug deeper than was possible into the ground. Confused I shook my head side to side, but an unfamiliar matted mess flopped into my face. Startled I opened my eyes to a sea of blond. I pulled my paws to my face trying to get the unknown out of my eyes…but my paws were gone…and I was staring at the delicate, long fingered hands of Tommy Jo Ratliff. Looking down the rest of me…I was completely naked, my fur was gone and I saw my human body for the first time in over a year. A scream of shock ripped its way up my throat, making the tiger jump back releasing his hold on my shoulder.

As soon as his jaws lost contact with skin, my panther body snapped back into place. It was like I only saw an illusion of my body. At least that’s what I kept repeating as I curled up into a little ball. _It’s not real! It was not real! Just an illusion, you are never going to have a human body again!_ As true panic settled over my brain I completely forgot about the tiger, who at that moment decided to nuzzle the back of my neck. I could feel something sliding through my fur but I couldn’t focus my mind enough to care, as suddenly as the tiger started nuzzling my neck he stopped and a low vibration thrummed through my bones.

The vibrations running through my body were enough to get me past the shock, pulling myself together and sitting back on my haunches I realized that the vibrations were coming from the tiger. He had his eyes closed and was purring so loudly it reminded me of a chain saw.  Slowly he opened his glazed eyes peaceful and content …realizing that I was staring, he let out a violent hiss as all of his fur stood on end…then shot through the forest so fast he was just a streak of orange in the dark night.

Dazed, confused, and very emotional, I was suddenly alone in a dark forest staring at the spot the tiger had occupied seconds earlier. As my mind caught up with all that had happened, every human fear and insecurity that I had thought I had left behind came crashing back like the waves of the angry sea. I tried to battle back the long buried emotions but they were too strong. The need to be myself, to hold things in my hands, to use my voice and actually talk to people, to wear my favorite cloths, to be in control of my own life; but the strongest emotions were loneliness and longing…to be human, and have another body hold mine close.

The night air slowly grew colder as I sat in the clearing absorbed in my crushing thoughts… the cold seeped into my skin causing pain to spike in my shoulder it reminded me of how the tiger had sunk his teeth into my flesh not releasing me until I had screamed; there was something there that I was missing…but my brain was fried and I needed to get home.

As I slowly started limping back for Lena’s dorm, I realized just how far I had ran…there was at least 10 miles between me and home. Four miles out from campus, my shoulder completely gave out, and I hopped on three legs the rest of the way.  

When I managed to drag my useless body down the hall to Lena’s door I gave an exhausted little mew…and slumped positive that no one would have heard me Lena’s deaf idiot! But an instant later the door was ripped open, the light spilling out so bright that I could not see who was standing in the doorway. The last thing I remember was being swept up into a strong grip and carried to Lena’s bed.

When my eyes decided to open again I knew that I had to have been out for a few days…my muscles were locked into place, and I was still very tired but more of an overslept kina tired than anything. As I blinked my eyes, gentle hands started to massage my legs slowly encouraging the muscles to ease up so that I could move again. My nose told me that it was Lena’s hands gliding over my seizing muscles, but I was more interested in the fact that the man was sitting across from me. He had a worried look on his face which was quickly hidden behind a forced smile when he felt my eyes on him.

He was griping something black in his hands which perked my interest… the man saw my attention shift and tried to move the object out of my sight but I managed to see the quick flash of an intricate silver buckle…moving my neck I realized that he had taken the collar off me… (Somewhere along the way I had become strangely attached to the black leather, and the strange person it was associated with.) Before I knew what I was doing I lunged at the man…or tried to, my muscles were having no of it! So I just slammed into the hard floor, but the irrational drive to keep the collar close had me crawling across the floor leaving deep gouges in the wood as I pulled my broken body toward the man.

 The man took a good look into my eyes… seeing me half crazed by the pain and burning need, he quickly decided that he would rather not get mauled and threw the collar at me. Crawling over my prize, hiding it under my belly, I hissed at the man staring him down until he was forced to look away. Satisfied that I had gotten my point across, I mouthed the collar and carefully carried it back over to Lena who took it in shaking hands and fumbled with the buckle a few times before she managed to lock it in place around my neck again. Some part of me was saddened to see her so afraid of me, so when she was done I pushed my head into her hand and purred. Lena gave a strangled laugh, tears sliding down her face as she started to stroke my head.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again Mizuki! I was so scared…then when you were not at home…” Lena sobbed   “I panicked and called dad (otherwise known as the man) he came over and we waited for you… you have been out cold for three full days!” Lena tried to say more but her tears took over. She just hugged me as she wept. Soon after Lena broke down the man quietly left, shooting the black collar around my neck a dark look as he closed the door. 


End file.
